'I've never been out': Prosecutors in Turpin torture case open hearing by playing 911 tape from sibling

David, 3rd from the left, and Louise Turpin, left, appear for their preliminary hearing with their lawyers at the Riverside Hall of Justice on Wednesday, June 20, 2018 in Riverside. The Turpins are charged with multiple counts of torture involving their children.(Photo11: Richard Lui, The Desert Sun-USA Today Network)

It was just before 6 a.m. on January 14 when a Riverside County 911 dispatcher got a call from an exasperated 17-year-old girl who seemed desperate for help.

She had the voice of a child and struggled to remember her address, but she made one thing clear to the dispatcher: She and her 12 siblings needed to be rescued.

“I live in a family of 15 people and my parents are abusive," the girl told the dispatcher. "They abuse us and my two little sisters are chained up.”

The 20-minute 911 call opened the preliminary hearing of David and Louise Turpin, the Perris couple charged with multiple counts of child abuse and torture after their 13 children were discovered at their home in January. Discussions will continue Thursday, when Riverside County Superior Court Judge Bernard Schwartz is expected to decide if there is enough evidence for the defendants to stand trial.

For several hours Wednesday, investigators presented testimony and evidence in the disturbing case that was launched by the chilling 911 call publicly heard for the first time this week.

David Turpin appears at his preliminary hearing at the Riverside Hall of Justice on Wednesday, June 20, 2018 in Riverside. David Turpin and his wife Louise Turpin are charged with multiple counts of torture involving their children.(Photo11: Richard Lui, The Desert Sun-USA Today Network)

The dispatcher remained calm as she pressed the girl for details that ultimately revealed the Turpin children's lives of deprivation.

“We don’t really do school. I haven’t finished first grade and I’m 17,” the girl said. “Sometimes I wake up and I can’t breathe because of how dirty the house is. We never take baths.”

During the proceedings Wednesday at the Riverside Hall of Justice, Sheriff's Deputy Manuel Campos testified that he interviewed the child, who was covered in filth and terrified, shortly after she was removed from the scene.

"She said she was scared to death and said (escaping) was one of the scariest things she’d ever done," Campos said.

Each defendant is charged with 12 counts of torture and false imprisonment, nine counts of child abuse and seven counts of cruelty to a dependent adult. David Turpin also faces one count of lewd acts on a child under 14 years old, and his wife is charged with assault resulting in great bodily injury.

Candles and balloons stand outside of a Perris house where authorities say 13 victims were held by abusive parents David and Louise Turpin.(Photo11: Alena Maschke, The Desert Sun)

They remain in custody in lieu of $12 million bail each after pleading not guilty to all charges and they face life in prison if convicted.

Wednesday's testimony came from Riverside County investigators who each interviewed different members of the Turpin family. They shared stories that added even more harrowing detail than those that emerged days after the defendants were arrested several months ago.

Court attendees gasped when prosecutors showed photos of two of the daughters with chains around their thin, pale bodies and shackles on their wrists.

Children were frequently chained up -- and sometimes even caged -- for days, weeks and months, leaving markings on their limbs and making it difficult to sleep at night and remove lice from their hair.

One child was grabbed by her neck because she had to relieve herself after already undressing and getting into a bathtub. Another alleged that Louise Turpin would punch and slap her children and even pull them by the hair so hard, she’d lift them off the ground.

Children wanted to cry, but doing so would only enhance their punishment, Riverside County Sheriff’s Deputy Daniel Brown testified.

Photos showed the conditions they endured. There were bedrooms with bunk beds covered in filthy sheets and chains. Another photo showed two padlocks on top of a mattress laid across the floor.

Feces stains were clearly visible on the clothing they wore the day of their rescue. As images of the clothing were shown in court, Sheriff’s Investigator Brett Rooker said one of the male siblings’ clothes were “putrid.”

Multiple allegations based on the children's interviews with investigators also illustrated years of abuse, which involved being thrown across rooms and beat with a tent stake and paddle.

By the time the children were rescued, the adult victims lacked sufficient education and were underweight by an average of 32 pounds, said Wade Walsvick, a senior investigator with the Riverside County District Attorney's office.

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David Turpin appeared to be taking notes during the hearing while Louise Turpin sat quietly, occasionally turning her head toward witnesses and the crowd. Their attorneys were brief when cross-examining witnesses and attempting to downplay the abuse that had been presented during the hearing.

Campos testified that the daughter claimed her father sexually abused her when she was 12 years old by pulling down her pants, putting her on his lap and forcing kisses on her lips. Allison Lowe, who represents David Turpin, said that the daughter only “thought” she was being abused, her father never actually kissed her and he never actually touched her private areas.

Lowe added that, despite the alleged abuse, the daughter had access to social media and even made a friend via Twitter.

Campos said the girl claimed she got in trouble for watching a Justin Bieber video when she was 15 years old, and her mother choked her as punishment.

Louise Turpin asked her daughter “’Do you want to die,’” Campos testified, adding the girl said no, but her mother allegedly responded by saying “’Yes, you do. You wanna die and go to hell.’”

“She said her neck was sore for the next two days,” Campos testified.

Investigators say the 13 siblings, who range in age from 2 to 29, endured years of abuse that included starvation, being chained to beds, and being beaten for as little as getting water on their wrists while washing their hands. Most of them lacked proper education, officials said.

Brown, the sheriff's deputy, said one of the girls looked out the window the day her sister escaped and saw multiple police cars.

“She said she was finally going to become free,” Brown said.

The siblings were discovered on January 14 after one escaped and alerted authorities following two years of planning. In the weeks after their rescue, stories of the family's questionable behavior emerged.

Riverside District Attorney Michael Hestrin gives a press conference at the D.A. office in Riverside on January 18, 2018 regarding the charges of children endangerment and torture against David and Louise Turpin after multiple children and adults were found in their care to be under precarious living conditions.(Photo11: Omar Ornelas/The Desert Sun)

The abuse dates back at least ten years to the time when the family was living in Texas. But stories from neighbors and former classmates have emerged indicating that children were being mistreated in the 1990s.

One neighbor said the family left behind a Texas home filled with dirty diapers, ropes and padlocked doors. A former Texas classmate posted on Facebook that one of the girls wore the same tattered dress to school every day and faced bullying from other students in her third-grade class.

The Turpin couple allegedly dreamed of having a reality show similar to "Kate Plus 8," which was about a couple with eight children. A relative also claimed the couple once desired multiple sex partners.

The siblings' deprived upbringing became even more evident once details of their recovery were released. They enjoyed food and entertainment that was new to them, but common among most people, including lasagna, "Star Wars" and "Harry Potter."

Louise Turpin appears at her preliminary hearing at the Riverside Hall of Justice on Wednesday, June 20, 2018 in Riverside. Louise Turpin and her husband David Turpin are charged with multiple counts of torture involving their children.(Photo11: Richard Lui, The Desret Sun-USA Today Network)